Shattered Glass
by Gangsta Smurfette
Summary: When she was downstairs, facing her sister, she tried to remain the calm, cool-head girl her teammates knew and loved, but if they were here now, they would barely recognize her as their Numbuh 5.
1. Chapter 1

SHATTERED GLASS

CHAPTER 1

Abby sank to the floor in her bedroom, leaning back against the door. Her CD player was on, playing smooth jazz, but she ignored the music for once, just this once. And she let the tears fall.

When she was downstairs, facing her sister, she tried to remain the calm, cool-head girl her teammates knew and loved, but if they were here now, they would barely recognize her as their Numbuh 5.

"_Come on, girl; get back on your feet." _

There was the voice of reason that guided her in her missions, telling her what to do about her situation. Abby knew she couldn't hold onto the past, but she found herself unable to let go. She was unable to let go of Numbuh 11, who was replaced by the teenager downstairs.

"_She's the enemy…" _

Yes, that was oh so true. The word _teenager _is a word she understood all too well. It was a word that destroyed her world three years ago.

Abby pushed herself to her feet, thinking a shower would do her good. She opened the door that she bolted barely fifteen minutes before and headed to the bathroom. Once she reached her destination, she ran the water, taking care to check if the water was not too hot or cold before getting in.

The luke-warm water on her skin was a welcoming sensation, allowing her to let go just a bit.

After a while, she stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her wrist before heading back to her room to get dressed.

The CD player was still playing in the background as Abby pulled on her short black shorts and her T-shirt that covered her shorts up, before braiding her dark hair and putting on the red cap.

Then, she headed downstairs. Relieved to see her sister wasn't around to force her back upstairs, Abby poured herself some soda. However, she didn't realize that the hallway floor was wet. She slipped, and the glass she was holding fell to the floor with a resounding crash. One of the glass shards cut her arm as she fell.

To her surprise, she felt the secret pain that she harbored for so long fade just a little, to a more manageable prickle. She found her self watching her blood dye her skin red, instead of cleaning up the mess she made.

And as she watched she thought.

"_Numbuh 1's the leader, Numbuh 2's the genius, Numbuh 4 is the tough one, and even Numbuh 3 has some sort of purpose. What's Numbuh 5 to the team? She's the one who brought them all together. Doesn't she deserve some sort of credit?" _

Abby finally pushed herself back up, and headed to the sink first to wash away the now dried blood covering her arm.

"_Cree is a teenager, but she was more successful than Abby ever was in the KND. She went down with a prefect record." _

When she managed to clean the mess she'd made, Abby tramped upstairs. Staring at the ceiling form her bed, she contuied thinking.

"_Is Abby…useless?" _

That thought scared her more than she let on. If she was, in fact, useless, then why was she still there? Was it because she wanted to be like her older sister, her Numbuh 11? No, in fact, there were a lot of things Cree _**didn't **_know about her sister. Things she _**should've **_known.

"Yo, Crabigail, I'm back." Cree's voice drifted up the stairs. "I just had to run to the shop."

Abby ignored her sister's call. But the faded pain returned more fiercely, more deadly, and it felt that Cree's jeering voice had put a dagger right trough her heart. Fighting tears, she closed her eyes hoping sleep would over come her.

Then, she remembered the cut the glass made, and she wondered if that really can help her deal with it.

"_I can make the pain go away…" _


	2. Chapter 2

SHATTERED GLASS

Chapter 2

They noticed. Abby knew they did. She was changing. She got rid of most of her old clothes, replacing them with black and purple and red. The only thing she kept was her old hat. Her hair was cut shorter into a bob that fell to her shoulders. Her face no longer held the grin they were accustomed to. Her eyes had purple rings about them, telling the world she's been getting little or no sleep.

Her love for jazz faded, and in its place came heavy rock music. Her bedroom in both the tree house and her home changed slowly, now painted in her new shades of colour. Her girl magazines were replaced by gothic ones. Her bed sheets were black with purple skulls all over them.

Nigel Uno was the first to notice the steady change in his friend and comrade. He was worried about her. He was worried about…_**everything**_.

"_Numbuh 5's acting different. She never did something like this before. I can't shake the feeling that something's really wrong here…" _

So one night, he set off to the African-American's room, determined to figure out what was wrong. He paused briefly in front of the door (noticing that there were skulls painted around the huge five now) to collect himself. Then, gathering his courage, he pushed the door open.

He flinched at the darkness of the room. There was no sight of the girl he was looking for. Clothes, magazines, and even CD cover littered the floor. One of Abby's new CDs was playing in the background, and the current song was 100 Suns by 30 Seconds to Mars.

_**I believe in nothing **_

_**Not the beginning or the end**_

Nigel realized that Abby wasn't here. He sat down the now black coach, being careful not to knock over a pile of clothes, and murmured: "I know something's wrong here. But what?"

_**I believe in nothing**_

_**Not the earth or the stars **_

"_I just don't get it. I feel like I'm missing something. Sure, I've seen her change, but something made her change. This can't be a change out of her own free will." _

_**I believe in nothing **_

_**Not the day and not the dark **_

"Ugh, how Numbuh 5 lives with this music is a total mystery to me." Nigel said aloud. "It's so _**depressing**_!"

_**I believe in nothing **_

_**But the beating of our hearts**_

"_Come to think of it, Numbuh 5'll kill me when she finds out I was in her room without permission. She already upset Numbuh 3 more than once with that new attitude of hers." _

_**I believe in nothing **_

_**One hundred suns until we part**_

"Okay, what?" Nigel asked aloud, looking at the small CD player.

_**I believe in nothing **_

_**Not in sins and not in God **_

Was this _really _what Numbuh 5 spent her day listening to?

_**I believe in nothing **_

_**Not in peace in not in war **_

Nigel got up, careful of the pile of clothes, shaking his head. He'd better get the Hell out of her before Abby catches him in her room. He moved over to the door, closing it as the last line of the song played.

_**I believe in nothing **_

_**But the truth and who we are **_

Nigel walked back to his room/office in silence, but if you were walking next to him, you could practically hear his brain whirring in thought. Something was seriously wrong, and for once, Nigel Uno was clueless to what it was.

And that scared him. As a leader he was the type who wanted to understand any problem that blew their way. Abby was scaring him. If she had a problem, she would've told him. The sudden distance between them confused him. It confused all of them.

Abby now rarely left her room unless there was a mission or she had to come to dinner. She spent more time at her house rather in the treehouse, or maybe she'd been coming in late, that was evident in the mess in her room.

The fact that she was pulling the whole team apart with her attitude, even the leader, was a troubling one. Abby was supposed to be the glue that _kept _them together was a team, not the splinter that was destroying them all.

But that was what's happing here. Abby was destroying her teammates by keeping her distance and leaving them in the dark.

This made absolutely no sense to Nigel.

They were not just a team, they were a family, and when one member goes astray, they others fall into the darkness.

Nigel sat down at his desk, frowning softly. This problem was destroying them all, not just him. A leader never tough just 'I', he though 'we' and 'team'. There was no 'I' in 'team'. The worry for his Sector had chewed a big hole trough his heart by now, and the fear had rubbed salt in the hole.

"I'd rather be doomed to early Decommissioning than leaving my team in this mess. But I'm going to need a little help here."


	3. Chapter 3

SHATTERED GLASS

Chapter 3

Abby sighed, adjusting her new top's strap. Breakfast was in five minutes. Making sure her fresh scars were covered, she left her room, slamming the door shut announcing that she was coming downstairs for breakfast.

Nigel had noticed the changes, everyone had. And she wouldn't like it any other way. They left her out in the thoughts she's now sure that they thought of her, but now she didn't give a thought about that. If they didn't care about what she did for the team, then she doesn't care about them at all.

She growled at the thought of them, the people she once tough were her friends, her sector. In the end, they abandoned her, just like Numbuh 11 did. And she wouldn't put up with that.

Nigel was the cool guy. Everyone adored him, and he was the man with the plan. How many times did _she _save her team form a sure mission failure? How many times had _she _acted on Nigel's plan, but yet got no credit?

Hoagie was just the nerd, the one who threw cheesy lines and invented their 2 x 4 technology. How hard was it to notice that she had an eye on him? But no, there was that KNN anchorwomen, Numbuh 10. And her own sister! Abby felt a new stab of hate overcome her that was directed at Cree.

Kuki was the careless one, and such a cruddy baby! No doubt they talked her into hating Abby. But who soothed her when there was a storm, power outage or she had a simple nightmare? Numbuh 5, that's who!

Wally acted like he was such a tough guy. He believed he can do everything. But Abby had to hold him back every time he went too far. She never got a thank you for stopping him form doing something reckless.

But the time the African-American reached the kitchen, she was _FURIOUS_! They had underestimated her, when all she ever did was help them.

"Numbuh 5, are you okay?" That sweet innocent voice that belonged to Kuki Sanban drifted onto her ears when she spilled some soda. Her hands were shaking with unspoken fury as she replied: "Abby's…fine."

In all truth, she was actually trying to control her rage. A rage that made her entire body shake, and that lit a fire in her heart.

"Are you sure?" Kuki asked, concerned. Any other sensible kid would've seen the rage shaking trough Abby, but Kuki only realized it when her friend looked her in the eyes. The pure anger the Japanese saw in the taller girl's face made her gulp and take a few steps back.

"I'm FINE!" Abby snapped. "But why do you care?" "Because, you're our friend, Numbuh 5…" Kuki answered timidly. Abby laughed harshly. "Really? All of a sudden Abby's your _friend_, when she knows she really isn't at all."

"What?" Kuki blinked. "Numbuh 5, you know that isn't…" Abby exploded. "DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME IT ISN'T TRUE WHEN YOU KNOW YOU'RE LYING!" "Abby…" Kuki started, but the dark skinned girl didn't hear her. "…YOU ALL THREAT ABBY LIKE SHE'S NOTHING! _NOTHING! _IF YOU ONLY COULD STOP BEING SUCH BABIES, ABBY CAN LIVE IN PEACE. BUT…NO! I'M NOT COMING TO DINNER TONIGHT!"

Kuki's lower lip trembled as Abby stormed off, slamming the door behind her. Tears started to form in her violet eyes when felt a pair of arms embracing her. The Japanese girl spun around, sobbing into the chest of her Australian friend. "S-she yelled at me! I c-can't b-believe she y-yelled at me."

Wally's eyes flashed dangerously as he rubbed his friend's back comfortingly. He couldn't believe it ether. Abby and Kuki were like sisters, and they never fell out before. Abby was the one who rarely lost her cool.

When Kuki's sobs finally subsided, he whispered to her: "C'mon, Kooks. Let's go get Numbuh 1." Kuki nodded in reply, hiccupping a little. Wally knew better than to lose his own temper right now, even tough he wanted to find Abby and beat her into a bloody pulp.

He guided her out of the kitchen, and was shocked to find Nigel and Hoagie frozen outside the door, their faces as white as ash. "Ah suppose ah don't need ta say anythin'. Ya have ta heard tha' otherwise ya wouldn't be so white."

Both nodded, and Kuki sniffled. Nigel regained his voice: "I've never seen Numbuh 5 get mad like that…" Hoagie nodded in agreement.

"Somethang's wrong with tha' girl." Wally said. "Ah knew for a fact tha' if Numbuh 5 was mad with anyone, she would be mad at me. Ah 'ever thought she'd be mad at Numbuh 3…"

"She's mad at all of us." Kuki said, causing her friends to gape at her. "I think she's mad at something we did. She thinks we…" She didn't dare to say the unthinkable that crossed her mind. But the rest understood.

"That's...not right." Hoagie said. He seemed to have lost his habit of cracking puns. Nobody spoke fore a while. Then Nigel said: "Well then, team, we better get breakfast." The other three mumbled something in agreement, their sprits down.

Nobody dared to even thing about the empty chair where Abby usually sat. As bad as they wanted her to breeze trough the door wearing her old regular outfit and say that everything was okay, they knew it won't happen.

"Hey, guys." Wally was the first speak over the table. "Ah know ah am not Numbuh 5; okay, but ah know we can get trough this. When Abby's not here, even ah feel like ta worst can happen. But we're Sector V, for crud's sake. Nothin' can ever bring us down. Right, Numbuh 1?"

"Numbuh 4's right." Nigel said. "Whatever it is that's wrong with Numbuh 5, it'll blow over." "Yea, mah mom says tha' some kids have 'phases' tha' makes 'em act different." Wally said. "Tha' is probably it."

"Numbuh 5's having a phase?" Hoagie doubted a little. "If what mah mom says is right, then tha' it." Wally confirmed.


End file.
